


Onwards & Upwards

by fyeahnatasharomanoff (MykaBeringWells)



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Diner fic take two!, Domestic Fluff, Everyone Is Alive, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, I would consider this, Love, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Reunited and It Feels So Good, The Avengers Are Good Bros, True Love, also, and she loves steve rogers, and steve rogers loves her, everyone is soft, just let yourself be happy, maybe? - Freeform, partners, she is more open than ever, so i guess this also counts as a, soft, soft fluff, til the end, yay!!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-10
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-07-10 12:00:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15948920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MykaBeringWells/pseuds/fyeahnatasharomanoff
Summary: maybe that fairytale happily ever after ending was for them, after all





	Onwards & Upwards

**Author's Note:**

> so this is my more domestic, light take on the diner pics from the A4 re-shoot (see end notes for the link, if you haven't seen them - it's literally just Chris and Scarlett (and Scott but only in like 5 pictures) so that must mean something good!)
> 
> anyway, this takes place post-IW, in a world where everything is fixed and nothing is horrible. 
> 
> enjoy!

The world had been saved, once again. The ashen had returned, families reunited, Avengers regrouped, differences reconciled -- and Captain Rogers and the Black Widow were retiring. Of course, they weren't the only ones -- Tony announced he was done being Iron Man mere seconds after Pepper announced she was pregnant, Clint had come out of retirement just to help them, and Bruce felt he finally had enough control over the other guy to have a go at a normal life.

They had all certainly done enough to deserve it, and they felt secure, now that their greatest threat ever had been defeated. Anything that came next could certainly be handled by the rest of the team, the newer ones. And now that they had five new team members guarding the galaxy, they felt okay in their decision to step down.

Of course, it wouldn't be complete without a retirement party, thrown by Tony, of course. Though everyone knew Steve and Natasha were going into retirement, no one knew they'd planned on doing it _together_. So imagine the surprise on everyone's faces when Scott asked Steve at the party what his plans were, now that he was finally getting to retire - at the ripe old age of 103, Natasha helpfully supplied - and the conversation in the room quieted just as Steve looked straight at Natasha and answered simply, "We're going to live our lives ... together." He smiled a knowing smile at Natasha and she nodded, sending a soft smile his way as she added, "for as long as we've got."

There was silence for a few moments, until Tony piped up, joking "this is what happens when I'm away?!" And then there were congratulations from everyone in the room, despite a few still-surprised faces.

Yes, they had been at each other's sides for years, but almost no one knew they were together. Really, Sam was the only one, as evidenced by his "this is awkward" comment that Natasha definitely scolded him for later on - and that was only because he was with them on the run when their relationship blossomed and began. Wanda probably had an inkling, seeing as she could read people's minds and feelings. Clint knew because Natasha had told him, but everyone else... they'd had no idea.

Eventually the party broke up and everyone promised to keep in touch and, of course, be available if help was really needed, and that was that.

Steve and Natasha flew out the next morning. They still had their affairs to get in order, so they separated, to get it done faster. Natasha dropped Steve off in DC, from where he would next go to Brooklyn, and then she took off to circle the globe, hitting each one of her safe houses and gathering the essentials, erasing any trace of her living there.

Once they were done, the plan was to meet near the eastern Canadian border. To kick off their retirement, they wanted to travel - well, to anywhere they wanted to go that they hadn't already visited on all their combined missions and adventures. First on that list was Canada -- oddly enough, not that many high-level threats happened or came from Canada.

So they did their research and found a small town just south of the border, complete with a homey diner that would be the perfect start to their newly domesticated lives. If it seemed odd, how excited they both got at the thought of being normal for once, they never said anything.

Natasha arrived on their pre-determined date but saw no sign of Steve. So she waited inside, ordering a cup of coffee from the friendly waitress and watching out the window in nervous-excited anticipation.

Finally, she saw him. He looked quite the suburban husband in jeans and an olive button down with the sleeves rolled up -- _damn_ , she was lucky, she thought to herself. It had only been a couple weeks since she'd last seen him, but he looked different. The beard was gone (she'd lament the loss of the delicious beard burn on her thighs later) and he looked strong, young, and all hers.

He entered the diner and immediately found her, lips turning up instinctively in that beautiful smile, and then he was in front of her, and kissing her briefly before sliding into the booth across from her. "Hey." Even his voice sounded lighter, and it made her smile back at him, knowing that being with her, _finally_ , was the cause.

"Hey," she responded, voice equally as bright.

They shared what they'd been up to the last couple weeks, as the waitress came and went with their orders. Then Steve started talking about their upcoming plans - they were going to Montreal, first - and the soft smile on his face became permanent, the dreamy tone to his voice so infectious that Natasha reached across the table to where he was resting his hands and interlaced her fingers with his.

He paused at that, looked over at her, and found her gazing at him with soft eyes and a smile that made him feel like it was reserved only for him... it probably was.

Once she knew she had his attention, Natasha spoke. "I love you."

Steve smiled, soft and knowing and always reciprocating, and responded, "I know," then leaned over to kiss her resolutely.

Natasha rolled her eyes when they parted and Steve chuckled, but couldn't help the words from falling out, a soft smile gracing his features as he uttered, "I love you too."

In that moment, Natasha was the realest, truest her he'd ever seen. He imagined they looked like an young couple in love, holding hands, sharing small smiles and adoring gazes, and maybe they weren't exactly that, would never be because of all they'd been through to get there, but at the heart of it -- they were.

Then Steve stood and held out his hand for her to take, the smile never leaving her face as she got to her feet, pulling herself closer to him. And as they walked out the door, they both felt a foreign but not unwelcome feeling come over them -- they were free.

They were now, finally, able to have something that they both, up until that point, had been denied - by nature of who they were and who they served. Normalcy, domesticity, and a life-long partner - shared life experience, indeed.

Most of all, found in each other, they had a home.

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> I know this was a little short - sorry about that. I was going to write a lot more, but then I looked at it, read it, and thought no, you know what. this is good. it felt right the way it was, so I left it.  
> but please let me know what you thought!  
> and as promised, here's the link: http://www.justjared.com/2018/09/07/chris-evans-paul-rudd-scarlett-johansson-film-avengers-4-in-atlanta/


End file.
